A three-year old staffing company decided to open their first remote branch with their goal being nationwide presence over time. They paid for an office in an executive suite in a sister city along with printed business cards. They hired an employee to do whatever it took to get new business in that market, with their focus being door-to-door cold calling on potential customers.
They did not supply a marketplace assessment of contacts, nor did they supply a computer. They felt the employee would not need a computer as the employee should not be in the office but out on the street knocking on doors.
The employee did as instructed for several months and, in a bold move, added a new billables category (staffing position) to their service line. This set a precedent for the company and added a new revenue stream for the company’s bottom-line success which was then replicated in other markets.
This singular office started producing results so, at four months in, the corporate office finally decided to supply a computer. This meant the employee could monitor prospect contacts with more than a handwritten paper trail.
Additionally, the decision was made that the employee should share their approach by onboarding and training new remote staff in other new markets (by phone vs. in-person).
Again, there was success against the odds. Three new staff members in various parts of the country were trained to run their offices. Through casual and unprovoked conversation, the employee discovered all three received computers immediately. And, even more, all three were making a higher salary than the original employee. Given her success and training responsibilities in addition to her original position, the employee requested a raise several times but did not get it.
Adding a final insult to injury, the corporate office determined that the (female) employee would no longer report to the vice president but, instead, report to one of the new (male) trainees.
The employee gave a two weeks’ resignation notice to their new supervisor the day before a two-week paid holiday.
In summary, the Start-Up supplied the bare minimum to initiate a field office. The corporate office held significant expectations of performance with almost no support. The Start-Up relied on the ingenuity of one employee to build not only one but several new markets, then exploited that employee’s talents on multiple levels. The numerous decisions to undermine the employee’s abilities and talent indicated an unhealthy culture.
In the end, while the company added significant revenues to the bottom-line, the Start-Up lost a star business-building employee.
Takeaways:
Pay attention to the employee eXperience your Start-Up delivers using different perspectives—from equipment to technology to moral support to compensation to training.
Appreciate employees for their skills, talent, and ingenuity—they are helping build your Start-Up.
Have structures in place to ensure employees are taken care of and rewarded for their contribution.
And, in today’s remote work environment, make sure your corporate culture is healthy and is actively promoted with every team member in every location.
*Bloopers might be real or fictional
Image credit: Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash
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